With the promise of a new year comes the anticipation of new horizons, and for many, this is the time to plan travel for the year ahead.
In 2024, the Chinese Government unilaterally extended visa-free entry to citizens of 38 countries and has broadened a policy of offering visa-free entry for transit travelers who plan visits of 10 days or less. That currently applies to 54 nations.
In a number of past episodes we've talked with experts about how China differs from Western liberal democracies (see below) and in this episode of Perspectives with Neilo we take a closer look at what you should know if you are thinking of travelling to the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the year ahead.
Topics covered in this episode include:
- ChinaTravel - brief introduction,
- The one-party authoritarian state (listen to China 101),
- Freedom, Media, Surveillance,
- Exit bans and the case of Irishman, Richard O'Halloran,
- Phone inspections, mobile payments and the Great Firewall,
- Propaganda awareness,
- How successful is China's visa-free entry so far?
- Flights and transiting in Hong Kong.
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| China Travel - Red Flags and Exit Bans |
DIVE DEEPER:
Additional information on the topics discussed in this episode.
- Ireland.ie - Travel Advice
- U.S. Embassy China - Security Alert: Exercise increased caution regarding attacks in public areas
- Explainer - How to enter mainland China visa-free: a traveller's guide - Ralph Jennings, SCMP (November 4th, 2024)
- China to allow visa-free entry to citizens from 6 more European countries - Claudia Chiappa, Politico (March 7th, 2024)
- Delicate diplomacy: The full story of Richard O'Halloran's long road home - Jack Horgan-Jones and Simon Carswell, The Irish Times (January 28th, 2022)
- Trapped - China's Expanding Use of Exit Bans - Safeguard Defenders (First Published April 2023)
- New regulations in China that allow security officers to access devices such as phones and laptops without warrants are due to come into force on 1 July - Dragonfly Intelligence (May 20th, 2024)
- New rules let China's state security police check people's devices - Qian Lang, Radio Free Asia (May 8th, 2024)
- Why Chinese Propaganda loves Foreign Travel Bloggers - Vivian Wang, New York Times (July 31st, 2024)
- Frontier influencers: the new face of China's propaganda - Fergus Ryan, Daria Impiombato and Hsi-Ting Pai, ASPI (October 20th, 2022)
- The foreigners in China's disinformation drive - Kerry Allen and Sophie Williams, BBC News (July 11th, 2021)
- Foreign influences used to whitewash Xinjiang abuses:Report - John Power, Aljazeera (December 15th, 2021)
- Finnair, BA, LOT: European airlines are pulling out of China. Is Russia's airspace closure to blame? - Euronews Travel, Euronews (October 28th, 2024)
- Major airlines are cutting services to China or quitting entirely amid low travel demand, high costs - Monica Pitrelli, CNBC (October 24th, 2024)
- International Airlines Leave China, Despite Beijing's Urging - Bonnie Girard, The Diplomat (August 3rd, 2024)
- China's Biggest-Ever Bid for Foreign Tourists is Falling Flat - Jinshan Hong, Josh Xiao, K Oanh Ha, Danny Lee, Bloomberg (January 8th, 2025)
